


Don't Wander the Woods

by FlOrangey



Series: FlOrangey's 'Noctis gets hurt badly' fics [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Camping, Friendship, Gen, Male Friendship, References to Marble Hornets, References to Slenderman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 03:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3794782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlOrangey/pseuds/FlOrangey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Camping at night in the woods and telling stories sounds like a great idea. Just don't wander off.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Wander the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> I had a pretty crummy work week so I was re-watching Marble Hornets and replaying Episode Duscae to settle down and came up with this. Any possible connections to real world events are coincidental. Enjoy.

 Potluck Stew was on the menu that night, and outside of the occasional sound of crickets and nearby harmless monsters roaming around the woods were quiet. A relief for all four of them as they had been on the run from the Imperial Army for most of the day. Hiding in the woods was the last thing they hoped to do but it proved to be beneficial. Magitek soldiers could air not drop into the trees and after a few hours the foot soldiers gave up their search and left. The sun had gone down, they would camp under the cover of trees for the night.

As Ignis cooked dinner Prompto stretched out his legs and arms in the camp chair feeling relieved they had a little peace before his eyes fell on the sleeping figure of Noctis across from him. The prince had been out since he sat down worn out from overusing his magic and the position he had slouched into made him resemble a tossed aside ragdoll.

“I don’t get it.” Prompto said.

“Get what?” Gladiolus asked. He was sitting in the chair closest to Prompto.

“How can he sleep like that?” Prompto asked motioning to the prince in question. “I mean look at him.” Gladiolus did so and shrugged. “You think that hurts?”

“Probably.” Gladiolus said. Indeed with the way he was slouched the chances of Noctis waking up with back pain would be quite high. The oldest looked back at Prompto who was eyeing their sleeping friend with a serious look as though contemplating a move in a chess game. Prompto was also terrible at chess. “Whatever you're planning, don’t.” Gladiolus warned.

“What makes you think I’m planning anything?” The blonde asked his voice not so innocent. “I’m just wondering, what would happen if I gave him a little push?” The blonde made a pushing motion with his hands as he said it.

“Simple, he’ll fall over.”

“Possible but unlikely.” Ignis said from the grill. “As lopsided as he may be the chair should support him. You’d only knock him over if you pushed the chair.” He paused to go back to cooking then looked at Prompto. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Prompto asked. His smile was that of a small child trying to mask their deviance with innocence. Ignis shook his head and went back to cooking. The smell of the stew reached the two other young men's noses and Prompto’s stomach growled loud at the noise. “How long until dinner?”

“Just a few more minutes.” Ignis said, “Coffee is finished if you want to wake his highness from his nap.”

“But isn’t it Gladiolus’ turn?”

“Yes but you seem so eager.” Ignis said a smirk on his face. Prompto frowned and looked to Gladiolus who shrugged and gave him a light push on his back. The blonde muttered under his breath and got up from his seat, stretching his back out as he got to his feet. Camping chairs, no matter what brand, were always uncomfortable. There was no exception as far as he was concerned.

Prompto walked over to his sleeping friend and gave him a light poke on the cheek. “Hey, wakey wakey sleeping beauty.”

Noctis grumbled and turned his head shifting in his sleep so he was more comfortable. Prompto rolled his eyes and put a hand on Noctis shoulder shaking him a little. The dark haired boy made a small incoherent mumble that Prompto guessed was a failed attempt to ask for a few more minutes or for him to go away. He shook harder.

“Noct, it’s almost dinner time. Ignis made your favorite coffee.”

The mention of coffee made the prince crack a sleepy eye open and he straightened, a pained look on his face, like he felt sharp pins spear through his back. “Stiff?” Gladiolus had asked a knowing look on his face.

“Very.” He said. He straightened and coughed his throat feeling unusually dry after his nap. Prompto had gone over and poured Noctis a cup of coffee and when he held it out the prince took it and drank it down. It would do very little for him, the effects of caffeine had stopped working their magic on him years ago, but he still loved the taste on his tongue and the hot liquid on his throat. He downed half the cup before moving it away from his lips. “Thank you.” He said.

“Aren’t you supposed to thank him before you drink it?” Gladiolus said a smirk on his face. Noctis response was to say nothing but pout which made Gladiolus chuckle. “Addict.”

“Am not.” Noctis said and took another drink of his coffee. He saw Prompto and Gladiolus exchange amused looks, the blonde trying not to laugh. “I am not. Ignis help me out here.”

Ignis was smiling but the look matched his other friends amusement. “You are quite fond of your coffee.” He said. All three of them were against him tonight. Noctis frowned and finished his cup just as Ignis approached with the bowls of stew. “Now eat something before the caffeine upsets your stomach.”

They all took their bowls and Ignis sat in the chair next to Noctis. The meal was of the high quality that they had all come to expect from the royal adviser, even more impressive since they were on the road. Noctis ate slowly to savor the flavor of the meal and laughing as Gladiolus and Prompto told terrible jokes that made Ignis question there tastes in humor. Finally Prompto let out a relaxed sigh sitting back in the chair.

“This is nice.” He said. “No running or hiding from soldiers, no worrying about our lives, just regular good old camping.”

“Yeah, it feels good.” Noctis said. He picked up a stick and tossed it into the fire, sparks crackled from it. He relaxed in the chair. Actually relaxed. He had not felt this content in weeks.

“Indeed, this is a nice change. We don’t get a lot of opportunities to relax these days, we should enjoy it.” Ignis said and Noctis wondered if that meant he would be allowed to sleep in. After the thought entered his head he forced it out. It was wishful thinking because the chances of that were unlikely. Ignis idea of sleeping in was very different from Noctis idea of sleeping in. “Would you like some more coffee your highness?”

Noctis nodded and Ignis took the cup, refilled it, and handed it back to him. Noctis took the cup and put his lips to it, but when he saw Gladiolus and Prompto look at each other with smirks on their faces he put the cup down and glared at them. “Don’t.”

“We didn’t say anything.” Prompto said, his attempts to keep back laughter making the noise come out like a snort through his nose. “But you know what would make this feel more like a camping trip.”

“Roasting marshmallows?” Gladiolus asked and Ignis glared at him. Noctis took a sip of his drink.

“No! Well yes, but no.” Prompto said, “I’m thinking ghost stories!” Prompto’s announcement made Ignis drop his glare his face showing genuine interest and contemplation. Gladiolus was grinning.

“Ghost stories around the campfire.” Ignis mused nodding his head, “That is a good idea.”

“Yeah, I know a few good ones, the other guards couldn’t get enough of them.” Gladiolus said excitement in his voice. Noctis, in contrast made a huffing noise in disapproval.

“I’ll pass.” He said his mood dropping at the idea. Prompto looked at him a little bit disappointed.

“Oh don’t be like that Noct. There ghost stories. Ghost stories are fun and scary.”

“They’re boring.” He said and Prompto gasped frowning like Noctis had just insulted his favorite revolver.

“Ghost stories are not boring! You have no taste.”

“I have taste. It’s just not ghosts. You see dead spirits for ten years and ghosts gets boring fast.” Noctis said. Prompto considered his friends statement and shrugged.

“Okay point taken.” Prompto said, “What about supernatural?”

“Nothing supernatural has scared me either.” Noctis said a frown on his face.

“Really?” Gladiolus asked almost amused, “Because I remember you screaming like a little girl when I showed you The Operator-”

“That was different!” Noctis said his voice going higher in volume than intended. He put a hand to his head to brush away some of his hair. “That was...I don’t even know what that was...And I did not scream like a girl!”

“You so screamed like a girl.” Gladiolus said getting a small laugh as Noctis hung his head his face still flushed from embarrassment.

“Okay I’m lost.” Prompto said putting his hand on his head, “What Operator? What are you talking about?”

The three other men exchanged looks a little surprised that Prompto was the only person who had no idea what they were talking about. Noctis not being completely aware of something was one thing, even normal as his castle upbringing left him somewhat sheltered. Prompto not knowing about something was a shock. “You don’t know? It was all over the extranet a few years ago. A bunch of online videos about a group...” Ignis started but trailed off. Of course Prompto wouldn’t know about them, the blonde had no access to a computer, let alone extranet video, until he started living in the castle, and by then the craze had worn off. Ignis cleared his throat. “Well anyway it was a pretty big deal a few years back.”

“What was it about?”

“Some kids shooting a terrible movie and a weird guy crashes it. The end.” Noctis said a little too quick as he continued to drink his coffee. Prompto looked at him eyebrow raised in curiosity.

“That’s it?”

“No it’s a lot more interesting.” Gladiolus said. He looked at Noctis then back at Prompto, “Noct’s just scared.”

“I am not.” He said, again a little too quick. Prompto watched as the prince tried to hide his face between his hair and his drink. He smirked and looked back at the other two.

“So what’s the story?” He asked and he was certain he heard Noctis swear under his breath. Ignis said nothing about the use of foul language, but there was a grin on his face as though he was enjoying the princes reaction.

“Well where to begin?”

“How about the beginning.” Prompto suggested. Ignis glared at him and Noctis looked a little pale when he put his cup down.

“Very well.” He said. “The story goes that this young film student named Alex was working on a movie, about a man who left for the city and came back home to find how much things have changed. It was supposed to be a introspective contemplative piece-”

“And it was really really bad.” Gladiolus interrupted and Ingis cleared his throat. The larger man apologized and motioned for Ignis to continue.

“But at some point during filming there were...complications. Alex cancelled the project with no warning and bagged up the tapes. When his friend, Jay, asked what he planned to do with them, his answer was: ‘burn them.’ Not wanting his friends hard work to go to waste, Jay convinced him to let him take the tapes and after some insistence Eric agreed, on the condition he never mention them again.”

Prompto’s mouth had formed into an ‘o’ as he listened with interest. “So what happened?”

“Alex moved a few days later, no known reason but supposedly it was because someone kept leaving dead animals on his front lawn.” Ignis said and Prompto’s eyes widened while Noctis seemed to curl up a bit in the chair. “Time passed and Jay forgot about the tapes, until while cleaning out his attic a few years later he rediscovered them and decided to take a look at them.”

“What was on them?”

“Not much really.” Ignis said with a shrug, “Most just had a lot of B-roll, the camera rolling aimlessly. Alex took it around with him everywhere he went, filming everything he came across. Some were of the student film. Some were damaged, either having no audio or the video distorted, but then Jay noticed something interesting. On the damaged tapes, it appeared that Alex was being followed. By a man, or something that resembled a man.” He paused letting Prompto sink that information in. “This man, well there was nothing out of the ordinary, just someone in a business suit.”

“Minus the lack of a face.” Gladiolus said and Ignis glared at him again. 

“Whoa wait, he had no face?” Prompto asked. He made a small noise making it clear that he was really getting into the story. Noctis said nothing.

“Yup no face.” Gladiolus said, “And he just stood there! It was like he was the shell of a man or something.”

“Or something indeed…” Ignis muttered annoyed that Gladiolus had again interrupted his storytelling. “This creature, which we’ll just call The Operator, followed Alex wherever he went. It didn't matter if he was working on the film, wondering the local park, or inside his house. Wherever he went, it was there, behind him, or hiding out among the trees in the woods.”

Prompto’s face faltered and he looked around. “The woods?” He repeated. Ignis smirked, their location was too perfect..

“Indeed. In fact it was while in the woods that this Operator was at his most active and it just so happened that most of the areas they filmed in were near woodland areas. After viewing several of the tapes Jay decided that he needed to find out what happened to his old friend and tracked down one of the former actors on the film who revealed that Alex's behavior had grown increasingly erratic during filming. He started out as a decent director, but over time became paranoid and manic, wanting the camera to be on at all times, and spending all his money on tapes. He even went out and bought a second camera so that he knew that the area around him was always being filmed. So he always knew where _it_ was. Not that it did anything, even in the safety of his home, whatever was following him still found it’s way to him."

“Eventually," Ignis continued, "Jay got a lead on where Alex might be living but when he went to the house no one was home. He snuck in through the basement and immediately realized that something was wrong.” Ignis said and motioned to Gladiolus who seemed eager to tell this part.

“There was trash everywhere in the basement, and when he opened the doors to the main house it was like a strange maze. Going upstairs led to downstairs and at one point he walked down the hall to the kitchen and turned around and found himself in the closet. Hell when he ran down to hide in the closet at one point he fell down the stairs!” He said and Prompto listened intently.

“And he was not alone either. On one of his treks through the hallway he saw someone else watching him, waiting. ‘Alex is that you?’ He called out. The person said nothing so he moved closer. ‘Alex?’ He took another step and then...” He paused looking between them. Prompto leaned in closer eager to hear.

It was then the wind picked up making the tree branches and leaves crash against each other. They jumped and one let out a small high pitched cry. All three looked to see that Noctis had dropped his cup and looked like he had jumped out of his skin. Gladiolus and Prompto looked at him and laughed. Noctis face was bright red. “Stop it.” He said his voice weak and strained.

“Sorry Noct, didn’t mean to scare ya.” Gladiolus said trying very hard to stop laughing. Ignis had an amused smirk on his face. “You scare easily.”

“Do not.”

“So it’s just the caffeine that’s made you jumpy.” Ignis said. Noctis glared at him, his face became hot and not just because of the fire they were sitting around.

“Is tonight ‘pick on the Crown Prince’ night? Because it’s starting seem like ‘pick on the Crown Prince’ night.”

“Noct if we had it our way every night would be ‘pick on Crown Prince’ night.” Prompto said and Noctis made a small noise before standing up. “Hey where are you going?”

“Where else? Bed.” He said wandering over to the tent. Ignis looked at his watch.

“Highness it’s barely passed eight.” Ignis said.

“Yeah and we’re barely at the good part of the story. We haven’t even gotten to the part with Maskys or the children-” Gladiolus started only for Noctis to cut him off.

“No! Thank you! I’m done.” Noctis said pushing the entrance of the tent open, “Ignis tells this thing to well. Good night.”

Without another word the prince slipped into the tent. They heard him fumble about in the dark before the tent became silent. The remaining three exchanged looks and Prompto chuckled. “He’s adorable when he’s scared.”

The tent entrance flew open, “I’m not scared!” Noctis shouted before closing it up again. Another loud thump from the tent encouraged laughter between the remaining three. Ignis chuckles were the most reserved as he played with his glasses.

“We should wait for his highness to fall asleep before continuing the story.” Ignis suggested and Gladiolus nodded in agreement. Considering who they were talking about it would be a very short wait.

“Yeah sounds good.” Prompto said standing up, “In the meantime, bathroom. Be back in a bit.”

“Don’t wander too far off.” Ignis told him only to receive a nonchalant wave from the blonde as he ran off into the bushes. He could hear the rustling footsteps fade out and tossed another stick into the fire.

* * *

 

Prompto had only half heard Ignis’ warning and had not even realized how dark the woods around him were until he had finished emptying his bladder and zipped up his pants. “Ah there we...uh oh.” He muttered to himself as he looked around and saw no fire nearby.

Prompto quickly fumbled for the flashlight that was fastened to his vest and after struggling for a second turned it on. He blinked as the sudden flash of light blinded him for a moment before his eyes adjusted. He looked around, he could make out no fire in the distance and the trees were close together. He cursed under his breath as he realized he probably wondered too far off. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. No bars. No signal. “Great, just great.” He said. He put the phone back in his pocket and looked around. He had come from which direction again? North. No south. He rubbed the back of his neck, he should have been paying attention to where he was going. He turned around again and saw what he guessed was smoke in the distance.

No other options he started over in that direction only to stop when he heard rustling in the distance. “Who's there?” He asked turning around. No other noise except more rustling which made him jump. His mind immediately went to Ignis and Gladiolus story when he saw something move between the trees. “Okay I need to get out of here.” He said to himself, the talking to try and settle his nerves, which was failing miserably. He turned and walked in the direction of where he hoped was a campfire.

It became apparent that after twenty minutes of walking he was not going in the right direction and that said ‘smoke’ was more likely to be a trick of some moonlight. He cursed the moon wishing that it was not so full and stopped to check his phone. Still no bars. Of course he had no bars he was in the middle of the woods. He frowned considering the possibility of being able to send a text message then paused when he realized wall his message could really say was ‘I got lost and don’t know where I am. Help?’ That kind of message was just begging Ignis to chastise him.

Another rustling noise made him jump and he turned around. This time he reached for his side letting his pistol materialize in his hand. “Okay whoever is doing that it’s not funny.” He shouted. Silence followed and somehow that silence just made Prompto feel more tense. He took a few steps back and jumped as he bumped into something. He turned, revolver in hand.

He ran into a tree. Just a tree. A tall very stretched out tree with a circle and ‘X’ crossed into it. Probably someone’s way of marking a path in case they got lost. Prompto sighed in relief but gasped as he heard more rustling. “Okay seriously this is not funny!” He yelled looking around. “Wherever you are, come out already!”

He was hoping that it was just Gladiolus playing a terrible prank on him. Instead he was greeted by the sight of eyes. Many many eyes on small bodies as they came out from hiding. Prompto’s eyes widened as he realized they were Goblins. Many many goblins. And he was just one person.

Goblins did not attack separate they attacked in groups, so when several lunged for him Prompto lept out of the way and shot one in the head, then another was he got to his feet and backpedaled away from them. If he kept his distance he might be able to get out of this little mess. He took another step back and aimed only to cry out as he felt something wrap tightly around his leg. The shot misfired into the air as he felt sharp fangs sink into his leg. He looked down to see he had stepped into a Naga’s sleeping area and the monstrous snakes orange body constricted his leg.

Prompto did the first thing he thought of, he aimed his weapon at the snakes body but his hands were shaky and he felt his vision began to blur. Spots fluttered in front of him as stumbled over his weapon dropped out of his hand. He saw light and then a bright flash of blue and silver. The blue and silver shifted into something black as it summoned a large sword which ran right through the goblins.

“Highness, the naga!” Ignis voice sounded distant to Prompto’s ears but he knew that the man was talking to Noctis and in a second he saw a shadow move past him and felt blood squirt across his legs and hands. His leg became loose and he flopped over like a ragdoll. He heard footsteps and then strong hands on his shoulders rolling him onto his back. “Prompto, can you hear me?”

Ignis voice made him open his eyes and he immediately regretted it. They widened in horror as he saw a creature he had never seen before. It was exactly like out of the story they had been sharing over the campfire, a tall faceless man in a suit. Prompto shifted as the monster reached a hand out to him. “S-stay back!” He coughed his vision spinning as he tried to get to his feet. The thing looked at him almost confused before reaching out again. This time Prompto found his gun.

“Don’t!” The blonde yelled as the monster backed away from him. “Don’t come any closer!” His yell was weak and his grip was shaky. He coldn’t aim but he could hit it. He could if it took another step. “Stay back!”

Noctis and Gladiolus had finished off the goblins and the prince looked around just in time to see Prompto grab his gun and aim it at Ignis. His eyes widened, both in shock and confusion and he rushed over. “Prompto stop!”

“Don’t come any closer!” The blonde said his eyes wide and Noctis immediately realized something was wrong. His friends face was as white as a sheet and even in the dark his flashlight made it easy to see the veins on Prompto’s neck. The Naga had bitten him. Poison immediately came to Noctis mind. “Noct, run!”

Noctis did, he rushed right for Prompto when the blonde wasn’t looking and tackled him to the ground. Both boys hit the ground hard and before Prompto could re grip the weapon he grabbed it and moved it out of his range. The blonde screamed as Noctis held him down and it became very clear that his friend wasn’t seeing him straight either. “What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s hallucinating.” Ignis said trying to keep calm despite the fact that his friend had almost shot him. “We need to keep him still and calm while I administer an antidote.”

Noctis nodded in agreement but found that it was easier said than done. Prompto started pulling trying to push him off and strong as Noctis was Prompto had more muscle and was stronger. The blonde kicked his legs in a vain attempt to try and hit Noctis in the head with his boot. Gladiolus moved in to pin him down. “I don’t think calm is an option.” He said trying to keep Prompto restrained. It was safe to say they were just making it worse but letting go of Prompto was not an option.

An idea popped into his head and frowned. He needed someone to hold him. “Can you give him the antidote while he’s sleeping?” He asked and Ignis looked at him confused for a second before realizing what Noctis was thinking. He moved closer and grabbed Prompto’s arm as Noctis let go. The blonde looked at him and screamed in panic.

“Starting to think we shouldn’t have told him that damned story.” Ignis muttered. Noctis did not reply. He moved his free hand to the base of Prompto’s forehead so that the blonde could feel his touch and he could partly obscure his eyes. The blonde reacted to the touch by trying to pull away at first but slowly he began to calm. Noctis closed his eyes concentrating on the crystal, he drew magic from it as he felt it pull on him bit by bit. He opened his eyes which had changed from blue to red and let the magic crawl down his arm into his hand and finger tips.

“Just relax Prom.” He said the magic taking on a thin light green glow around his hand. Prompto fought against it at first but slowly his body began to relax. Noctis watched as his friend became still and after a few seconds cut the magic off and moved his hand up Prompto’s head. The blonde’s eyes had closed, his breathing becoming soft. Sleeping. Prompto looked to be peacefully sleeping. Gladiolus and Ignis let go of him and though Prompto’s arm twitched he remained peaceful. Noctis sighed in relief and fell backward his eyes changing back to blue and his vision spinning a little. “That should...that should help.”

Ignis nodded and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small vial containing the antidote. He frowned realizing that while Prompto was certainly not going to hurt them now that they would need to wait a little longer to give him the antidote. “We’ll have to bring him back to camp, I’ll treat him there.”

“You can’t just drop a few drops in his mouth?” Gladiolus asked helping Noctis to his feet.

“I’d rather not give it to him by mouth, he may choke on the liquid. Through a syringe would be a better option.” Ignis explained feeling grateful that they had restocked there medical supplies while in town. Antidotes fortunately worked more or less the same way regardless of how they were taken, a shot through the arm would not be a problem. He looked over to Noctis who was being helped to his feet by Gladiolus. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired.” Was the prince's answer.

“Tired after casting a sleep spell. How appropriate.” Ignis said his voice flat but there being a small grin on his face. Noctis could not help but let out a tired chuckle as the humor was not lost on him. Gladiolus carefully lifted Prompto off the ground and while the blonde mumbled a little he did not stir.

“Damn idiot should have been more careful.” He said. Another mumble from Prompto, something about Cindy, and Gladiolus rolled his eyes. The men began their walk back to camp, Ignis put a steady hand on Noctis when he saw the man stumble a little, not used to using such a strong spell. They walked a little ways when the sound of rustling leaves caught Noctis attention. The dark haired boy turned around his sword hand at attention to summon his blade if needed. His eyes went one way than another. Nothing was visible and yet he had this strange unsteady feeling that he was being watched. A cough escaped his lips and he cleared his throat. It felt scratchy.

“Highness is something wrong?” Ignis asked having stopped when he did. Noctis did not answer at first keeping his eyes and ears on the dark woods. He shook his head concluding that whatever he heard may have just been a squirrel or a field mouse.

“No,” He said his voice sounding strained as he coughed again. “Just kinda creeped out.” He said. Ignis said nothing but noted that cough coming from the prince was not healthy. After he treated Prompto he would check up on the prince and make sure he was not coming down with something.

* * *

 

Prompto woke up feeling like he had spent a night partying at the clubs in Lucis. Yet he was pretty sure he had not been to any clubs in the past several weeks and that he was inside a tent and not a cheap hotel room. If he had been partying he would indeed be in a cheap hotel room. Even with that in mind his head was throbbing and he felt like he had some kind of hangover. He opened his eyes and looked around. The tent was empty. Not even Noctis was inside sleeping. Something had to have happened if he was sleeping later than Noctis. Or maybe he was dreaming and had not actually woken up and when he did wake up Noctis would be curled up next to him. That made more sense.

Yet after a little bit he realized he was in fact not dreaming. He groaned and sat up and jumped when he heard loud footsteps come near the tent. The flap was opened and Prompto hid his face from the light. “Oh good you're awake.” The voice was Ignis’ and Prompto tried to look up as the man stepped into the tent and closed it behind him. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit.” Was Prompto’s blunt answer. “Who turned up the sun?” He looked at Ignis, “And why the hell do you look weird?”

Ignis head looked almost like an hourglass in Prompto’s vision and the glasses weren’t helping. He put a hand on Prompto’s forehead and moved his head inspecting him. “Well you seem coherent and you aren’t trying to point a gun to my head so I’d say the antidote is working.”

Prompto stared at him his mind completely blank. “What are you talking about?” He asked and the moment he did it all came back to him. His eyes widened and he brushed his hair. “Oh Etro! Ignis I’m-”

“Don’t dwell on it.” Ignis said and Prompto stared at him. His vision was becoming clearer and the blonde could see that while Ignis face was quite indifferent there was a ghost of a smile on his face. “No one was hurt. You seem to be faring better.”

“But-”

“Just please be more careful.” Ignis said making it clear that if Prompto wanted to apologize he should at least listen to Ignis’ advice. Prompto nodded and Ignis was pretty sure that Prompto would be more careful. For a few days, then go back to making trouble again. The blonde looked around a bit then looked back at him.

“Where’s Noct and Gladio?” He asked and when he did they heard coughing outside. Prompto winced at the sounds, Noctis was coughing, but it sounded more like he was trying to hack up one of his lungs.

“That would be them.” Ignis said. He got up and exited the tent. Prompto followed and he blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight. Shapes became more distinct as he saw Gladiolus rub Noctis back trying to help the prince calm down. Outside of the tent all there camping equipment had been put away so Noctis was hunched over on the dirty ground Gladiolus kneeling next to him. A few harder coughs gave way to softer ones and Gladiolus handed the prince a half empty bottle of water. Almost immediately he drank it down spitting up half the water as he entered another coughing fit.

“Easy there Noct, drink slow.” Gladiolus told him, but the coughs died down. Prompto got a good look at Noctis’ face which had taken on a pale grey tinge before Ignis knelt down blocking his view. The man put a hand to Noctis forehead and then his cheek.

“Still a fever, but it’s not as bad as this morning.” Ignis said. “I’ll give you more medicine for the cough before we get back on the road. Hopefully you can sleep most of this off in the car.”

Noctis said nothing but shivered and looked behind him his eyes widening. “Noct, there's nothing there.” Gladiolus said and judging by his tone Prompto had a feeling this was not the first time he had said it today. Noctis did turn around after several seconds his gaze falling on Prompto.

“Hey.” He said voice hoarse from coughing. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah. What happened to you? Is it the crystal?”

Another cough before an answer. “Not the crystal.” He said, “Ignis says it’s just a cold but…” He trailed off and looked behind him again. Prompto took a spot on the ground next to him letting Gladiolus know he could watch their friend while he finished packing.

Gladiolus and Ignis finished packing the tent leaving Prompto to keep an eye on Noctis. The dark haired boy kept looking at the trees like there was something out there. He looked up a few times to see nothing except brown and trees and greenish leaves. After the tent was packed and Noctis was given the medicine to help his cough the prince settled next to Prompto in the back seat.

“You guys want me to put on a CD?” Gladiolus asked and Prompto was about to answer when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to the woodland to see something tall. It looked like a man in a suit. With no face. He heard Noctis cough again before settling into a fitful sleep head resting on his shoulder. “Yo Prom, got a suggestion?”

“Uh yeah. Something by _The Black Mages_.” Prompto said looking away as Ignis started the car and drove off. “And uh can we not camp out tonight?”

“We have the gil for a night at an inn.” Ignis said, “Hopefully resting in a proper bed will help his highness.”

“Okay good.”

“Oh yeah. Prom, I found those videos we told you about last night.” Gladiolus said holding Ignis’ phone out. “You wanna take a look?”

Prompto stared at him then laughed trying hard to hide his unease. “I think I’m good. Maybe later?” He said and Gladiolus noticed he seemed unusually on edge but shrugged it off and went back to putting the CD into the drive. The first song was a personal favorite, a rock anthem called _Otherworld,_ but Prompto found himself not listening. He looked behind him and then back at Noctis who had settled down, but when he closed his eyes the sight of that creature was fresh in his mind.

**Author's Note:**

> Side effects of Slender sickness include: cough, cold like symptoms, paranoia, hallucinations, and eventually psychotic behavior. Have fun Noctis! :D
> 
> Ignis and Gladiolus' story is based on the first eighteen (of eighty-seven) entries of Marble Hornets.


End file.
